Bitcoin hits record high as US lawmakers push for pro-crypto legislation

Bitcoin continued its rapid climb and hit another all-time high Monday as US lawmakers begin a week focused on passing pro-crypto legislation.

Data from CoinMarketCap showed bitcoin climbed above $123,000 early Monday, up from about $108,000 only a week ago. The world's oldest and most popular cryptocurrency is currently the fifth most valuable asset class in the world at $2.4 trillion, giving it a higher market cap than Amazon.

The enthusiasm for bitcoin comes as the US House is set to take up several pieces of cryptocurrency-related legislation in what's been dubbed crypto week in Congress.

Lawmakers have been under pressure from President Donald Trump and the big-spending crypto lobby to pass legislation quickly.

That includes a bill passed last month by the Senate that would regulate a type of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins. The House is also set to take up a cryptocurrency market structure legislation that is far more sweeping.

Trump, once a sceptic of the industry, has vowed in his second term to make the US the global capital of crypto. Meanwhile, he and his family have moved aggressively into nearly every corner of the industry: mining operations, billion-dollar bitcoin purchases, a newly minted stablecoin and a Trump-branded meme coin.

The crypto industry has rapidly become a major player in Washington after feeling unfairly targeted by the Biden administration. The industry spent huge amounts on last year's elections and has been spending heavily on lobbying and other influence efforts this year.

Bitcoin has seen a significant rebound since April, when it briefly dipped below $75,000.

Spot bitcoin ETFs are becoming increasingly popular since launching last year and several publicly traded companies have made using debt and stock sales to buy bitcoin their primary business strategy.

Created in response to the 2008 financial crisis, bitcoin has taken a highly volatile path to mainstream acceptance. Its backers say the asset is like a digital gold that can act as a hedge against central bank and government malfeasance. Only 21 million bitcoins will ever be created.

Bitcoin's price is finally catching up to what's been building under the surface, said Adam Back, CEO of the crypto company Blockstream. This is institutional demand aligning with bitcoin's fundamentals, and a fixed supply doing what it was designed to do.